We start this week’s edition of Look Who’s Talking Now, where we bring you the best of what our members have been saying in the media, on a sombre note.
Wednesday April 6th marked the seventh anniversary since the tragic passing of former Brumbies and Australian Rugby Sevens star Shawn Mackay, who also coached the Wallaroos during his 26 years.
Our thoughts are with Shawn’s family, friends and former teammates, as well as all RUPA members who have been touched by him. Vale, Shawn Mackay.
LWTN is an unashamed fan of highlighting the off-field pursuits of RUPA’s members, and one of the more impressive is Waratahs rookie Tom Robertson. Speaking with the Daily Telegraph’s Iain Payten, Robertson explained the difficulty of managing full-time medical studies at Sydney University alongside being offered his Waratahs’ contract at the end of 2015.
“There were a few long conversations with my manager and my parents, trying to figure out what was more important to me,” Robertson said. “I had put so much effort into trying to be a doctor I didn’t want to give up at first sight, so I thought I would try a year of (juggling) it and see how I go.
“Wednesday is my hospital day and Thursday afternoon is my practical day, in the labs and stuff. Lectures are pretty much every other day and I am at training at that time so I go straight from training to the library here at Uni, and catch up with my lectures online.”
Hat tip to you, Robbo!
If you haven’t heard the story of how Aussie 7s superstar and former sprinter Ellia Green first started playing the game, never fear; she told the Sunday Telegraph’s Jessica Halloran about how she first ended up at a talent identification day for the game back in 2012.
“I turned up that day and I wasn’t that interested,” Green says. “I was focusing on my running, I went with my cousin who was more interested than me, we were late, and we were running on Fijian time”.
Fast forward now, and it’s a good thing she impressed the scouts; she’s a key cog in the side which are gunning for a medal in Rio in just four short months’ time.
“It’s great to be that role model for the next generation of women and make it known to them that they can do it too. They can be a full time rugby player. It’s not just a guy’s sport now. It can be a career. I see it is important for young girls to know that anyone can do it, if they put their mind to it.”
21 year old starlet Green is one of Australia’s newest and brightest female talents, and she can even rap; check out this video she recorded with World Rugby!
To Canberra now, and it will surprise nobody who has been watching the Brumbies in action this season to hear that young prop Allan Alaalatoa received a call up to the recent Wallaby camp on Cockatoo Island. Alaalatoa grew up dreaming of following in his dad's Test rugby footsteps; his dad Vili played for Samoa at the 1991 Rugby World Cup.
"I've watched the videos of when dad played and that's always been in the back of my mind, playing at those big stadiums in big games," Alaalatoa told the Canberra Times’ Chris Dutton. "These camps give you a taste and that makes you even more eager to try to get there. It's rewarding for the work you've put in and something you cherish as well.
"I was just in camp trying to listen and learn as much as I can. I haven't really thought about playing in that Test series, I just want to see what [Cheika] has to say. But it's good to know you're on that radar."
Fellow Brumby forward Tom Staniforth spoke to Rugby News this week as part of a collaboration with RUPA, and the former Australian Schoolboys star paid credit to some Test teammates whose good habits are rubbing off on him.
“Watching the training habits of someone like David Pocock helps a lot,” he said. “He trains and plays very hard so I try and watch what he does around the field and in the gym.
“Same as Scotty Fardy and Carts (Sam Carter), they train really hard as well but are also really good at reading the game so it’s great to watch them and ask why they did certain things in a certain way, which really helps.”
To the backline, and this week Tom English joined Melbourne Rebels teammates Ben Meehan and Sam Jeffries in signing new deals at the Club, hot on the heels of a first ever victory in Sydney.
“My partner and I are both very happy down here so off the field it means some stability in the home life,” he told the Club's website. “The life of an athlete can be turbulent, you’re always travelling but fortunately for me I’ve always been at the Rebels and hopefully always will be.
“I’ve got nothing but good things to say about the structure and the support the club has given me to re-sign. You can see something special is happening here and that’s one of the reasons why I decided to stick around so it’s a great opportunity for me and one that I’m looking forward to over the next two years.”
Speaking with Iain Payten, Waratahs prop Paddy Ryan has been speaking about the work he does to spread positive mental health messages with charity Batyr.
“I am not trained to be able counsel anyone, and I sure as hell wouldn’t say I am emotionally really good with that kind of stuff,” Ryan explained. “But I am certainly not ashamed to ask a mate how they’re going. That’s all anyone needs to be able to do.
“Mental health is an issue that is close to my heart, it is close to my family and the opportunity arose to go and do a bit of stuff in schools. It is an organisation I am proud to be part of.”
Hear hear, Paddy!
Up to Brisbane, where Karmichael Hunt has been named at fullback for tomorrow night’s match against the Highlanders. Hunt admitted to the Courier Mail’s Sam Phillips that Wallabies Coach Michael Cheika sees his long-term position as a centre, but he is happy to play wherever he’s picked for any team.
“I have been a team man throughout my career and want to go out there and play my best footy at No.15 on Saturday,” he said. “We’ve watched plenty of tape of the Highlanders this week and it’s pretty scary to watch the amount of counter-attack footy they play.
“We’ve got a pretty structured, detailed game plan in place and it has taken a while for the boys to understand where the best place is to get the ball and where we need to get the ball. It’s a work in progress.”
Finally to Hong Kong, where the Australian Men’s Rugby Sevens side will look to finish in the top three for the fourth straight tournament, entering the tournament in a hot vein of form.
Nic Cummins returns to the side for the first time in a number of years, and having played at this tournament when he was 18 years old he can’t wait to witness the atmosphere.
"I was a little pup, 18, short hair, ready to conquer the world," Cummins told ESPN. "(The tournament) was an awesome experience then, it was quite packed out, the atmosphere was charging. I suppose this time around I'm hoping for a better result than back in the day there; the boys are a pretty good outfit and I'm planning to add to it."
A spot in the quarterfinals on Sunday is the short-term goal for the Australian side while, individually, they've all got one eye on Rio.
"Yeah that would be bloody exceptional I s'pose," Cummins said of the Olympics. "The Comm Games [2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games] was an awesome experience in itself and to go any further would be bloody outstanding. So I guess it's one of those things that's once-in-a-lifetime sort of opportunity, mate."
The Reds and Force are both in action this weekend, with the Brumbies, Rebels and Waratahs all enjoying a bye week, while both Australian Rugby Sevens teams will be in action (and live on Fox Sports!)
The entire Men’s tournament will be broadcast live on, while the women’s will be broadcast from 8am-11am on Sunday. The schedule, in AEST, is as follows:
Women’s World Series, Atlanta:
•Saturday 9th April, Australia vs. England, 03:14
•Saturday 9th April, Australia vs. Colombia, 5:58
•Saturday 9th April, Australia vs. Fiji, 8:42
•Sunday 10th April, Cup Quarter Finals commence 02:30
•Sunday 10th April, Cup Semi Finals commence 06:42
•Sunday 10th April, Cup Final commences 10:11
Men’s World Series, Hong Kong:
•Friday 8th April, Australia vs. Argentina, 22:28
•Saturday 9th April, Australia vs. Portugal, 15:10
•Saturday 9th April, Australia vs. USA, 19:10
•Sunday 10th April, Bowl Quarter Finals commence 11:30
•Sunday 10th April, Cup Quarter Finals commence 12:58
•Sunday 10th April, Cup Semi Finals commence 17:44
•Sunday 10th April, Cup Final commences 21:00
